The following notes and warnings highlight missing or conflicting information which caused the validator to perform some guesswork prior to validation, or other things affecting the output below. If the guess or fallback is incorrect, it could make validation results entirely incoherent. It is highly recommended to check these potential issues, and, if necessary, fix them and re-validate the document.
Unable to Determine Parse Mode!
The validator can process documents either as XML (for document types such as XHTML, SVG, etc.) or SGML (for HTML 4.01 and prior versions). For this document, the information available was not sufficient to determine the parsing mode unambiguously, because:
text/html) can be used for XML or SGML document types<?xml version="1.0"?>) could be found at the beginning of the document.<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">) could be found at the root of the document.As a default, the validator is falling back to SGML mode.
No DOCTYPE found! Checking with default HTML 4.01 Transitional Document Type.
No DOCTYPE Declaration could be found or recognized in this document. This generally means that the document is not declaring its Document Type at the top. It can also mean that the DOCTYPE declaration contains a spelling error, or that it is not using the correct syntax.
The document was checked using a default "fallback" Document Type Definition that closely resembles “HTML 4.01 Transitional”.
It is recommended to use a DOCTYPE declaration as the very first thing in your HTML document, to identify the precise language being used. For example, for a typical XHTML 1.0 document:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
<head>
<title>Title</title>
</head>
<body>
<!-- ... body of document ... -->
</body>
</html>
For XML documents, you may also wish to include an "XML Declaration" even before the DOCTYPE Declaration, but this is not well supported in older browsers. More information about this can be found in the XHTML 1.0 Recommendation.
The W3C QA Activity maintains a List of Valid Doctypes that you can choose from, and the WDG maintains a document on "Choosing a DOCTYPE".
<HTML>
The checked page did not contain a document type ("DOCTYPE") declaration. The Validator has tried to validate with a fallback DTD, but this is quite likely to be incorrect and will generate a large number of incorrect error messages. It is highly recommended that you insert the proper DOCTYPE declaration in your document -- instructions for doing this are given above -- and it is necessary to have this declaration before the page can be declared to be valid.
…css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTE…
For the current document, the validator interprets strings like
<FOO /> according to legacy rules that
break the expectations of most authors and thus cause confusing warnings
and error messages from the validator. This interpretation is triggered
by HTML 4 documents or other SGML-based HTML documents. To avoid the
messages, simply remove the "/" character in such contexts. NB: If you
expect <FOO /> to be interpreted as an
XML-compatible "self-closing" tag, then you need to use XHTML or HTML5.
This warning and related errors may also be caused by an unquoted
attribute value containing one or more "/". Example:
<a href=http://w3c.org>W3C</a>.
In such cases, the solution is to put quotation marks around the value.
…s" /> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
The element named above was found in a context where it is not allowed. This could mean that you have incorrectly nested elements -- such as a "style" element in the "body" section instead of inside "head" -- or two elements that overlap (which is not allowed).
One common cause for this error is the use of XHTML syntax in HTML documents. Due to HTML's rules of implicitly closed elements, this error can create cascading effects. For instance, using XHTML's "self-closing" tags for "meta" and "link" in the "head" section of a HTML document may cause the parser to infer the end of the "head" section and the beginning of the "body" section (where "link" and "meta" are not allowed; hence the reported error).
</HEAD>
The Validator found an end tag for the above element, but that element is not currently open. This is often caused by a leftover end tag from an element that was removed during editing, or by an implicitly closed element (if you have an error related to an element being used where it is not allowed, this is almost certainly the case). In the latter case this error will disappear as soon as you fix the original problem.
If this error occurred in a script section of your document, you should probably read this FAQ entry.
<BODY BGCOLOR="#6600FF">
The element named above was found in a context where it is not allowed. This could mean that you have incorrectly nested elements -- such as a "style" element in the "body" section instead of inside "head" -- or two elements that overlap (which is not allowed).
One common cause for this error is the use of XHTML syntax in HTML documents. Due to HTML's rules of implicitly closed elements, this error can create cascading effects. For instance, using XHTML's "self-closing" tags for "meta" and "link" in the "head" section of a HTML document may cause the parser to infer the end of the "head" section and the beginning of the "body" section (where "link" and "meta" are not allowed; hence the reported error).
<TABLE WIDTH="832" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" height="1008">
You have used the attribute named above in your document, but the document type you are using does not support that attribute for this element. This error is often caused by incorrect use of the "Strict" document type with a document that uses frames (e.g. you must use the "Transitional" document type to get the "target" attribute), or by using vendor proprietary extensions such as "marginheight" (this is usually fixed by using CSS to achieve the desired effect instead).
This error may also result if the element itself is not supported in the document type you are using, as an undefined element will have no supported attributes; in this case, see the element-undefined error message for further information.
How to fix: check the spelling and case of the element and attribute, (Remember XHTML is all lower-case) and/or check that they are both allowed in the chosen document type, and/or use CSS instead of this attribute. If you received this error when using the <embed> element to incorporate flash media in a Web page, see the FAQ item on valid flash.
<p><IMG SRC="top.jpg" WIDTH="806" HEIGHT="117"></p>
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
<A HREF="aspergers.htm">Aspergers</A> <BR>
You have used an illegal character in your text. HTML uses the standard UNICODE Consortium character repertoire, and it leaves undefined (among others) 65 character codes (0 to 31 inclusive and 127 to 159 inclusive) that are sometimes used for typographical quote marks and similar in proprietary character sets. The validator has found one of these undefined characters in your document. The character may appear on your browser as a curly quote, or a trademark symbol, or some other fancy glyph; on a different computer, however, it will likely appear as a completely different character, or nothing at all.
Your best bet is to replace the character with the nearest equivalent ASCII character, or to use an appropriate character entity. For more information on Character Encoding on the web, see Alan Flavell's excellent HTML Character Set Issues reference.
This error can also be triggered by formatting characters embedded in documents by some word processors. If you use a word processor to edit your HTML documents, be sure to use the "Save as ASCII" or similar command to save the document without formatting information.
… HEIGHT="563" USEMAP="#Map" BORDER="0"><map name="Map"><area shape="poly" coor…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…shape="poly" coords="262,187" href="#"><area shape="poly" coords="260,191,326,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…oly" coords="260,191,326,203" href="#"><area shape="poly" coords="289,60" href…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
… shape="poly" coords="289,60" href="#"><area shape="poly" coords="286,56,348,6…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…48,94,326,201,261,189" href="book.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="307,246,300,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…75,292,255,301,246" href="aboutme.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="354,214,346,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…,254,477,265,450,266" href="woods.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="125,259,135,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…2,151,336,129,309" href="thehouse.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="47,157,89,15…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…13,64,56,25,25,53" href="shopmenu.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="42,131" href…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
… shape="poly" coords="42,131" href="#"><area shape="poly" coords="169,389,176,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…,373,275,374,279,387" href="caves.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="529,355,559,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…424,533,409,524,376" href="travel.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="542,466" hre…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…shape="poly" coords="542,466" href="#"><area shape="poly" coords="564,184" hre…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…shape="poly" coords="564,184" href="#"><area shape="poly" coords="554,185" hre…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…shape="poly" coords="554,185" href="#"><area shape="poly" coords="555,184,556,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…oly" coords="555,184,556,198" href="#"><area shape="poly" coords="608,227,620,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…261" href="mailto:bearsac@bearsac.com"><area shape="rect" coords="539,76,653,1…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…//www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIGZWaHRUEE&feature=youtu.be"><area shape="poly" coo…
An entity reference was found in the document, but there is no reference by that name defined. Often this is caused by misspelling the reference name, unencoded ampersands, or by leaving off the trailing semicolon (;). The most common cause of this error is unencoded ampersands in URLs as described by the WDG in "Ampersands in URLs".
Entity references start with an ampersand (&) and end with a semicolon (;). If you want to use a literal ampersand in your document you must encode it as "&" (even inside URLs!). Be careful to end entity references with a semicolon or your entity reference may get interpreted in connection with the following text. Also keep in mind that named entity references are case-sensitive; &Aelig; and æ are different characters.
If this error appears in some markup generated by PHP's session handling code, this article has explanations and solutions to your problem.
Note that in most documents, errors related to entity references will trigger up to 5 separate messages from the Validator. Usually these will all disappear when the original problem is fixed.
…//www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIGZWaHRUEE&feature=youtu.be"><area shape="poly" coo…
This is usually a cascading error caused by a an undefined entity reference or use of an unencoded ampersand (&) in an URL or body text. See the previous message for further details.
…outube.com/watch?v=XIGZWaHRUEE&feature=youtu.be"><area shape="poly" coords="41…
This is usually a cascading error caused by a an undefined entity reference or use of an unencoded ampersand (&) in an URL or body text. See the previous message for further details.
…://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIGZWaHRUEE&feature=youtu.be"><area shape="poly" co…
…/watch?v=XIGZWaHRUEE&feature=youtu.be"><area shape="poly" coords="417,19,503,3…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…68,471,175,378,156" href="diary10.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="341,302" hre…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…shape="poly" coords="341,302" href="#"><area shape="rect" coords="341,293,395,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…="341,293,395,310" href="problems.htm"><area shape="rect" coords="405,293,468,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…293,468,314" href="celebritybears.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="334,335,336,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…56,390,343,344,331" href="history.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="653,406" hre…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…shape="poly" coords="653,406" href="#"><area shape="poly" coords="412,346,461,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…,409,367,414,347" href="guestbear.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="330,395,335,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…395,331,396,329,396" href="dating.htm"><area shape="poly" coords="409,391,459,…
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
…09,391,459,392,458,408,411,412,408,391" href="selfadvocacy.htm"></map></a></TD>
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
<TD WIDTH="673" BACKGROUND="page-mid.jpg">
You have used the attribute named above in your document, but the document type you are using does not support that attribute for this element. This error is often caused by incorrect use of the "Strict" document type with a document that uses frames (e.g. you must use the "Transitional" document type to get the "target" attribute), or by using vendor proprietary extensions such as "marginheight" (this is usually fixed by using CSS to achieve the desired effect instead).
This error may also result if the element itself is not supported in the document type you are using, as an undefined element will have no supported attributes; in this case, see the element-undefined error message for further information.
How to fix: check the spelling and case of the element and attribute, (Remember XHTML is all lower-case) and/or check that they are both allowed in the chosen document type, and/or use CSS instead of this attribute. If you received this error when using the <embed> element to incorporate flash media in a Web page, see the FAQ item on valid flash.
<script language="javascript1.2"><!--
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
<script language="javascript"><!--
The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.
Typical values for type are
type="text/css" for <style>
and type="text/javascript" for <script>.
<font size=1 color=white><noscript><img height=1 width=1 alt=""
The mentioned element is not allowed to appear in the context in which you've placed it; the other mentioned elements are the only ones that are both allowed there and can contain the element mentioned. This might mean that you need a containing element, or possibly that you've forgotten to close a previous element.
One possible cause for this message is that you have attempted to put a block-level element (such as "<p>" or "<table>") inside an inline element (such as "<a>", "<span>", or "<font>").
…p://t0.extreme-dm.com/c.g?tag=bearsac&j=n"></noscript> </font><FONT COLOR="#FF…
An entity reference was found in the document, but there is no reference by that name defined. Often this is caused by misspelling the reference name, unencoded ampersands, or by leaving off the trailing semicolon (;). The most common cause of this error is unencoded ampersands in URLs as described by the WDG in "Ampersands in URLs".
Entity references start with an ampersand (&) and end with a semicolon (;). If you want to use a literal ampersand in your document you must encode it as "&" (even inside URLs!). Be careful to end entity references with a semicolon or your entity reference may get interpreted in connection with the following text. Also keep in mind that named entity references are case-sensitive; &Aelig; and æ are different characters.
If this error appears in some markup generated by PHP's session handling code, this article has explanations and solutions to your problem.
Note that in most documents, errors related to entity references will trigger up to 5 separate messages from the Validator. Usually these will all disappear when the original problem is fixed.
…p://t0.extreme-dm.com/c.g?tag=bearsac&j=n"></noscript> </font><FONT COLOR="#FF…
This is usually a cascading error caused by a an undefined entity reference or use of an unencoded ampersand (&) in an URL or body text. See the previous message for further details.
…://t0.extreme-dm.com/c.g?tag=bearsac&j=n"></noscript> </font><FONT COLOR="#FFF…
This is usually a cascading error caused by a an undefined entity reference or use of an unencoded ampersand (&) in an URL or body text. See the previous message for further details.
…tp://t0.extreme-dm.com/c.g?tag=bearsac&j=n"></noscript> </font><FONT COLOR="#F…
<TR></TR>
Most likely, you nested tags and closed them in the wrong order. For example <p><em>...</p> is not acceptable, as <em> must be closed before <p>. Acceptable nesting is: <p><em>...</em></p>
Another possibility is that you used an element which requires a child element that you did not include. Hence the parent element is "not finished", not complete. For instance, in HTML the <head> element must contain a <title> child element, lists require appropriate list items (<ul> and <ol> require <li>; <dl> requires <dt> and <dd>), and so on.
<TR></TR>
Most likely, you nested tags and closed them in the wrong order. For example <p><em>...</p> is not acceptable, as <em> must be closed before <p>. Acceptable nesting is: <p><em>...</em></p>
Another possibility is that you used an element which requires a child element that you did not include. Hence the parent element is "not finished", not complete. For instance, in HTML the <head> element must contain a <title> child element, lists require appropriate list items (<ul> and <ol> require <li>; <dl> requires <dt> and <dd>), and so on.
<TR></TR>
Most likely, you nested tags and closed them in the wrong order. For example <p><em>...</p> is not acceptable, as <em> must be closed before <p>. Acceptable nesting is: <p><em>...</em></p>
Another possibility is that you used an element which requires a child element that you did not include. Hence the parent element is "not finished", not complete. For instance, in HTML the <head> element must contain a <title> child element, lists require appropriate list items (<ul> and <ol> require <li>; <dl> requires <dt> and <dd>), and so on.